Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Monster Mash

The MonsterVerse continues.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters arrives August 27. It’s on 4K UHD Combo-Pack, Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on August 6.

UNIVERSE

Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures rebooted Godzilla back in 2014. This starts the MonsterVerse. Kong: Skull Island, another reboot for King Kong, followed in 2017.

Many called King of the Monsters a disappointment within the Summer 2019 slate of films. While the Godzilla 2014 version had a strong buzz, King of the Monsters appears to have stumbled.

It only garnered a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes and over $385 million worldwide. The result is the lowest of the MonsterVerse.

But plans are already in the works for more. Godzilla and King Kong are to meet in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020. (Which gets teased during this credits sequence.)

Godzilla may get the title but there are humans as well. Like Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown, in her feature film debut. (Millie, of course, is familiar with tv in Stranger Things. )

The cast is rounded out with Bradley Whitford. Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Oscar nominee David Strathairn, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang.

The film is directed by Michael Dougherty. He wrote the script with Zach Shields with the story by Max Borenstein and Shields. Based on the characters of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan, owned and created by Toho Co, Ltd.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Make it a rainy day selection.

This is a sequel. So, if you’ve never seen Godzilla or Skull Island, well, King of the Monsters may be an odd choice to start. But if you like Godzilla or monster movies in general, I would say it is worth a look.

(I’m not one to say I am a Godzilla expert as the history stretches back in 1954. Bigger fans may just love this.)

Do you have to be familiar with those other MonsterVerse movies? Not really. The only connective thread is a few supporting characters from the 2014 Godzilla. And the organization called Monarch.

Godzilla haunts the family of Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown.

Godzilla has disappeared for five years. But Monarch has been on the search and studying these other creatures known as Titans. If there is one like Godzilla - there must be more to find, right?

The movie opens with trying to keep one of these Titans contained named Mothra. A group of eco-terrorists attack though. Mothra escapes but Farmiga’s and Bobby Brown’s characters are captured.

As these monsters rise from Rodan and the three-headed Ghidorah. Humanity’s very existence is hanging in the balance. As it always tends to be for humanity.

It is a monster movie. So, it’s over-the-top. There is plenty of action/destruction, too. The last 25-30 minutes of the film is focused around a Godzilla fight.

You may shake your head at some of what the humans do when monsters are around, too.

The visual effects are quite impressive.

Was it a great film? Not really.

Was it terrible? Not really.

It’s passable entertainment. Good for a rainy day.

Will I be watching Godzilla vs. Kong? Most likely.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

How much there was to find here was surprising.

Monsters 101 (5 minutes, 43 seconds.)

Godzilla: Nature’s Fearsome Guardian

Mothra: Queen of the Monsters

King Ghidorah: The Living Extinction Machine

Rodan: Airborne God of Fire

- A closer look at the monsters in the film, sizes, special powers etc. But nothing earth-shattering.

Evolution of Titans (27 minutes, 24 seconds.)

Godzilla 2.0

Making Morthra

Creating Ghidorah

Reimagining Rodan

A deeper look at the monsters. Topics include the slight physical changes to Godzilla. There's talk how Ghindorah used motion-capture performance to create the three heads. And how vultures and even crane sounds are used for Rodan. Some of it’s interesting for how much thought goes into the design of the monster.

Monarch in Action (32 minutes, 56 seconds.)

The Yunnan Temple

Castle Bravo

The Antarctic base

The Isla de Mara Volcano

The Undersea Lair

More about the organization of Monarch. This section is more sets and locations that are used within the film.

Millie Bobby Brown: Force of Nature (4 minutes, 7 seconds.)

- What a lot of the cast thought of Millie Bobby Brown. I never saw Stranger Things, so there might be more of an appeal for that fanbase. She’s only 13 when she filmed the movie.

Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight (8 minutes, 34 seconds.)

- There’s a different kind of technology featured in the movie because of Monarch. They discuss it here.

Monsters are Real (14 minutes, 10 seconds.)

- I found this more interesting. It shifts more away from the movie aspects and the real-life aspects. What is it about monsters? Some may say it’s humans. What about dragons? They are featured in basically every culture. Komodo dragons?

Those Kraken legends have some truth, too.

Welcome to the Monsterverse (3 minutes, 42 seconds.)

- Doesn’t offer up anything new. But clips from Godzilla and Kong to highlight what’s to come. And teases the question - who might be the king after all?

Deleted Scenes (5 minutes, 1 second.)

- One deleted scene and one alternative scene.

I always find the alternative scene interesting. It shows what changes were made and tweaked to what shows up in the completed film.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

Rampage: Video Game to Big Screen

Ready for a Rampage?

Rampage takes inspiration from the video game world. It first appeared in 1986. There were no humans in a starring role. You played the monsters.

The cinematic-adventure of Rampage debuts on Blu-Ray combo pack and DVD on July 17. The Digital format appeared early on June 26. 

MONSTER

Rampage - on the worldwide scale - is the biggest video game adaptation ever. It grossed over $425 million. The debatable Tomatometer gives it the highest rating of any video game movie with 52%.

Which is still calling it rotten.

Dwayne Johnson reteams with director Brad Peyton. They worked together on 2015’s San Andreas and 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Ryan Engle hatched the story. The script was rounded out by Carleton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, and Adam Sztykiel.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? A rainy day selection.

The video game trend continues after Tomb Raider.

Dwayne Johnson - a.k.a The Rock - his catalog of movies are not by any means Oscar-worthy.

But.

They never seem to be boring either.

Is Dwayne Johnson at his best in Rampage? I don’t think so. I believe this where I will take off a few points.

(I have not seen him in any of the Fast & Furious franchise. My two cents goes to The Rundown and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as the top contenders for his best movies.)

The story of Rampage was to have leeway. The video game featured no real plot, which in turn, would not even come close to properly fill 107 minutes.

Dwayne Johnson is not only a primatologist but also has a Special Forces background. If you go with that, then you are pretty much in for the ride.

Rampage does have Jurassic Park vibes. It’s basically a genetic experiment gone wrong, which causes the chaos of the movie. Johnson has a bond with a gorilla named George, who turns into a raging creature of enormous size. The motion-capture of George is done by Jason Liles.

Naomie Harris comes into the picture as discredited geneticist Kate Caldwell. We discover the characters of Mailin Akerman and Jake Lacy know a lot more about what is going on. Joe Manganiello helps behind-the-scenes. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is on the hunt as the mysterious government agent.

It unfolds into a monster movie. With a big gorilla like George, it’s hard not to think of King Kong too. The visual effects are done by Academy Award-winning company Weta Digital. 

I wouldn’t be in a rush to watch Rampage again. Yet, there is enough action and moves at a quick pace, that it could be passable entertainment for most.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The standard DVD only has Not A Game Anymore feature.

Not A Game Anymore (6 minutes, 15 seconds) - I had no knowledge of the Midway video game. This was the most interesting as the game was discussed - how there were plenty of fans involved in the film. There are also about three Easter eggs in the movie for those well- versed in Rampage.

Gag Reel (2 minutes, 43 seconds)  - This depends on your sense of humour. A lot of silly montages and most of the messed-up lines involve how much everyone curses.

Deleted Scenes (10 minutes, 12 seconds) - There are about seven scenes altogether. The first one is the most intriguing as it shows how ruthless Joe Manganiello’s character can be. Two scenes are actually shown twice and are virtually the same. This seemed pointless as the only difference I noticed is the level of visual effects.

Actors in Action (10 minutes, 45 seconds) - This is the behind-the-scenes reel. There were military advisors to deal with training. How the actors worked with the stunts and working side-by-side.

Trio of Destruction (10 minutes, 8 seconds) - This is a focus on Weta Digital and the monsters. There is a lot of thought gone into the research and creations of the evolution of the animal.

Attack of Chicago (10 minutes, 23 seconds) - The production sets out to destroy Chicago. They need a cost-effective way to do it. They blend real Chicago with the visual effects needed to pull it off.

Bringing George to Life (11 minutes, 53 seconds) - Andy Serkis may be one of the more well-known actors behind motion-capture performances. There are other people still needed for the work. Jason Liles is George the gorilla as he discusses how the training of how to move and behave. He had help from Terry Notary.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment